The Browns keep kicking away opportunities to mend fences with fans

From a public-relations standpoint, the Browns have had much better offseasons.Some of the criticism has been deserved (see the pursuit of Chip Kelly and almost anything involving Mike Lombardi, especially Joe Banner's “lightning rod” comment).Some of it has been unwarranted (Jimmy Haslam can remain heavily involved and still spend most of his time in Tennessee).The fans' reaction toward Phil Dawson's exit falls into the former category.The criticism is very much deserved, and all Banner needs to do to understand it is write Dawson's position on any dry-erase board in the Browns' executive offices. If the team president sees “kicker” on said board (preferably in all caps), it should tell him everything he needs to know.It has been so bad the last 14 years, the fans are irate over a kicker leaving in free agency.

True, this isn't any kicker.Dawson was on the verge of breaking Lou Groza's franchise record for points by a kicker, he was coming off his best season (at age 37; he turned 38 on Jan. 23) and he's as classy as it gets.But he's a kicker in a league in which 15 players made at least 86.8% of their field-goal attempts in 2012.The Browns might not have a better kicker than Dawson in 2013, but it stands to reason they'll be able to find a competent one. Heck, they recently worked out one who goes by Kickalicious.They won't, however, be able to erase the fans' poor feelings, ones that stem from the realization that a team that entered the offseason with more than $47 million in salary-cap space likely didn't even make a formal offer to a player who was 7-for-7 on field goals of 50 yards or more last season.Dawson instead will try to help the 49ers win a Super Bowl after agreeing to a one-year, $2.25 million contract — a drop of almost $1.6 million from his 2012 salary of $3.81 million.The Browns still have plenty of cap space, but apparently didn't want to give $3 million or $4 million of it to a 38-year-old kicker.

On the surface, that seems completely reasonable.But reasonable doesn't apply when your franchise has been this bad for this long — in a league that encourages parity.The Browns can replace Phil Dawson.If they win, and soon, Banner and Lombardi will be celebrated in this football-mad city.Until then, it's another PR fumble for a franchise that has been so mismanaged since 1999 that a kicker chasing a championship elsewhere has given a fan base another reason to mourn.

My bad

While writing my blog Monday, I had a feeling I was setting myself up for ridicule. Last night, New Mexico made sure of it.Ohio State fans, you're welcome. If you'd like, I can write a blog next week saying the Buckeyes have no chance to defeat Harvard or Arizona.You can follow me on Twitter for sports information, analysis and more NCAA tournament locks.

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